It has been almost two years since Stephen Harper announced his government would establish an Office of Religious Freedom to monitor the safety of religious minorities around the world.

It was during the spring 2011 election campaign that the Conservatives promised that this new office would become a key pillar of Canadian foreign policy.

Since then, however, progress has been halting. There were reports that two people who had been approached to head up the new agency had turned down the post.

So the announcement Tuesday of the federal government's first ambassador of religious freedom put a face and public profile to an organization that has long been in the planning stages and is now operational.

The first head of the new Office is Andrew Bennett, a 40-year-old Catholic and academic. He has been the dean of Augustine College, a small, private Christian liberal arts college in Ottawa, since February 2011. He teaches the history of Christianity there and is completing a part-time degree in theology.

He has a Ph.D. in politics from the University of Edinburgh, an M.A. in history from McGill University and a B.A. from Dalhousie University.

Bennett is also a former federal public servant. He worked for several years as a political risk analyst for Export Development Canada, and as a policy analyst in the Privy Council Office in Ottawa.

"Dr. Bennett is a man of principle and deep convictions and he will encourage the protection of religious minorities around the world so all can practice their faith without fear of violence and repression," the prime minister said in announcing his appointment on Tuesday.

Augustine College administrator Harold Visser said Bennett would reach out to all those persecuted on religious grounds. "What Andrew brings is a familiarity with a diversity of faith, and a sensitivity to the validity of those various faith traditions," he said.

Its mandate is to promote freedom of religion or belief. The government says this promotion will be a Canadian "foreign policy priority."

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